


An Old Friend

by willownorthbook



Series: Willow's New Horses [1]
Category: Star Stable
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 20:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16583978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willownorthbook/pseuds/willownorthbook
Summary: Willow adjusts to her new life in Moorland thanks to a new four-legged friend.





	An Old Friend

Willow woke up to the faint sounds of birds chirping and hoofbeats. For a girl that had lived her entire life in the city, this would definitely take some getting used to.

She sat up from her bed, yawning as she pushed her long, brown hair out of her face. Normally she’d spend a few minutes in bed looking at her phone, but that wasn’t the case today. Willow had been waiting for this day for too long. Today she finally started the short summer program in Moorland Stables. After that, once she learned the ropes of the communities of Jorvik, she’d basically be on her own to make money and really get involved with the equestrian world. She was nervous, but she’d never been so ready for a change.

It didn’t take long for Willow to push herself to get ready. She made her bed, ate a quick breakfast, showered, and changed into a workable outfit. Short riding boots with half chaps, jeans, and a comfortable black tee-shirt seemed good enough. Part of her felt like the odd-one-out, seeing all these riders with their fancy outfits and matching tack sets, but she needed to remind herself that she was just starting out. At her level of riding, she had no reason to have such expensive clothing, and that was totally okay. Plenty of people around Moorland were at the same level as her. It would just take some getting used to.

Willow put her phone on silent and shoved it into her back pocket. On the way out the door, she double checked everything: she had her keys, her phone, small wallet, and- well, she almost forgot her helmet. Once she grabbed it, she locked up her little apartment and walked towards all the commotion. In her letter confirming she was accepted into the program, she was told to meet Justin Moorland in the stables courtyard at 9:00 AM. Hopefully, she’d find him, it seemed a bit crowded in front of the stables.

Hugging the wall to stay out of everyone’s way, Willow found her way to the courtyard. Her gaze shifted around, oddly enough finding no one but a person who had to be Justin Moorland and a couple of horses. Most of them were tied up, but one was beside Justin. Maybe they had scheduled people to meet him at different times so there wouldn’t be so much confusion.

When Justin spotted Willow, he smiled to her and waved. “Good morning! Welcome to Moorland Stables. How was your first night on the property?”

The nerves that Willow had felt before mostly went away. His cheery attitude made her feel comfortable already. “Good morning. It was nice! The sounds of the farm are definitely going to take getting used to, but I already prefer it over the sounds of the city.”

Justin laughed. “That’s great to hear. If you have any problems in your apartment, make sure you let me or my father know. His name’s Thomas. He’s gotta be around here somewhere. Mornings are always pretty hectic, as I’m sure you’ve seen.” He turned to look out the doorway. “It should clear out a bit by midday, but it’s never quiet here.”

Willow shrugged her shoulders. “I think too much quiet would drive me crazy. This is a good transition for me.”

“Well, that’s good. I’m confident, though, that this short program will give you a proper start in this transition from city life to the life of the rest of the island. Jorvik City is great and all, but it really doesn’t show what the island is known for,” Justin noted. Willow nodded in agreement.

Justin shifted his weight onto one leg and adjusted the reins he held in his hands. “Enough about that, though. I think it’s time you meet the horse you’ll be working with for the week.” He stepped back to give the horse more room. “This is Hawkeye. He’s a 16.2 hand silver dapple Jorvik Warmblood. He’s great for beginners, he won’t try anything on you, but he does have a personality once you get to know him.”

For a few moments, Willow looked over the gelding. He was gorgeous. He had an interrupted stripe on his face with a pink nose and little bits of white on all but one of his feet. She stepped forward and held her hand out to him, to which Hawkeye pressed his nose to her palm. Instantly, she felt warmth in her chest. It was odd, but Willow felt like she already knew Hawkeye, as if she were meeting an old friend.

“Awe, look at that,” Justin said, bringing Willow back to reality. “He already likes you. When you’re ready, we can adjust your stirrups and get you on your way.”

Willow nodded her head to Justin and turned her gaze back to Hawkeye. It was rare that she was speechless, but right now she didn’t really have much to say. She took a few moments to pet Hawkeye’s neck and face before stepping away to tend to the saddle. Once the stirrups were adjusted properly, Justin helped give Willow a leg up onto Hawkeye’s back. As she mounted, the horse turned his head to look at her, but otherwise stood entirely still. Her hand reached down to gently rub his neck underneath his long, white mane.

“There you go. How’s that feel?” Justin asked, stepping back once he helped Willow get a hold of her reins.

“Tall, but oddly natural,” Willow replied, a smile appearing on her lips.

Justin grinned. “I suppose sitting on a horse is a natural feeling for most native Jorvegians. Glad I could see you two off. I need to meet with the next student, but Maya can help you.” He turned and pointed through the doorway. “She’s that girl with the red hair and the overalls. You two should get along great. She’ll point you in the right direction from here. If you see me around and have a question, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. You can’t get me to shut up most of the time.” She smiled when Justin laughed. “I’ll see you around.” With that, she gently squeezed Hawkeye’s sides to urge him into a walk. He was a little slow, but Willow was thankful for that. Maybe he knew that she was anxious about her new surroundings.

For the next couple of days, Willow went through the summer program. She already knew most of the basics of riding from her lessons over the summer and during the school year, but now she was learning how to jump. She was also doing all sorts of work all over the stables, whether it was cleaning stalls, helping care for the Bobcats’ horses, or even helping Conrad at the forge down the road. It was a lot of work, but Willow thrived off of it. Friends had often referred to her as a “workaholic” even when she didn’t have a job because she was always up to something.

Having Hawkeye by her side made it a lot easier, too. Sure, he was a horse and she couldn’t talk to him, but she trusted him. It seemed like he trusted her, too. She hoped that was the case.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Willow’s week went smoothly. Except for the last two days. The last two days were a chaotic mess. Somehow she was roped into doing work for the Bobcats they could have easily done themselves. That was more tedious than anything. But the biggest thing was, well, she basically saved Moorland Stables. With Hawkeye as her noble steed, they found Loretta in Nilmer’s Highland after dealing with two-faced Mr. Kembell, distracted G.E.D. workers so Thomas Moorland could prove his ownership of the land, and even put an end to a decades-old family feud. By the end of it all, Willow still couldn’t quite say she made friends, but she sure as hell grew a lot of trust and love for Hawkeye.

But now, after all of this, the week came to an end. Willow felt a twinge of sadness in her chest. Nothing would really be changing for her. She’d still be living in Moorland and working with Maya and the Bobcats. She’d even be helping out James Cloudmill in Fort Pinta, which was great for her because that also meant she could see her father more often. The big difference was that she wouldn’t be using Hawkeye. Hawkeye was a lesson horse with Moorland Stables and was used for the summer program. Now that she was out of it, she’d just be using whatever horse was handed to her.

Willow got herself dressed and ready for the day, finally getting used to her new morning routine. As she stepped out of her front door, she almost walked right into Thomas Moorland. “Oh, good morning!”

“Well, good morning, Willow. Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I was just coming over to talk to you about something I think you might be interested in.” Thomas motioned for her to follow him and started to walk towards the stables.

“So, as you know, now that you’re not part of the summer program, you have to use whatever horses are assigned for you to use that day. Hawkeye isn’t one of ours, he’s a boarder. Did I ever tell you about his owners?” Thomas looked down at Willow, who shook her head. “Well, his owners moved off the island years ago. They’re very nice people, and they’ve helped pay to keep him happy and healthy over here.”

Willow shrugged her shoulders. “That’s good, at least. I’ve heard horror stories of that type of situation.”

Thomas smirked. “Yes, we got very lucky with that. But, the reason I’m telling you this is because I spoke with them just yesterday. I told them how Hawkeye had a new rider, and how well you two did together. After a while of talking, they made an offer and they want me to pass it along to you.”

The two of them stopped walking in front of the doorway to the courtyard. “They trust my judgment with how well you’ve been doing. Since they aren’t planning on coming back to the island anytime soon, they’re offering him to you in exchange for 300 shillings.”

Willow was glad they were against a wall. She leaned against it, her green eyes wide with shock. “300 shillings? That’s it?”

“Sure is. Do you not have enough? If that’s the case, I can wait-”

“No, no, I do.” Willow felt a little bad cutting him off, but she really didn’t know what to say. Ever since she was a little girl, it was a dream of hers to have her own horse. The fact that this dream could so easily become a reality now, especially with Hawkeye-- she could cry tears of joy. “Do you want a check?”

Thomas grinned. “That should work just fine. I trust you. Leave it in my mailbox by tonight. Come here, let’s go say hi to your new horse.”

Willow’s face broke out into a huge smile. She practically jogged through the doorways to the courtyard, where Justin stood yet again with the lesson horses. Justin’s eyes went from her to his father. “Did she buy him?” Justin asked. Willow wondered how he knew, but then she remembered. Justin was Thomas’s son, of course, he knew what happened.

“She sure did,” said Thomas. “He’s all hers.”

Justin walked over to Hawkeye, untying him from the fence. “I’m glad you’re his new owner, Willow. You two are great together. I can’t wait to see how well you guys do with more work.”

Willow wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Thank you guys so much. I really, really appreciate this. You have no idea.”

After some more casual conversation, the three of them went their separate ways to work. Willow immediately went to the stables to groom and tack up her horse. Yes, _her_ horse. It felt weird to say that to herself, but she was alright with that.

When she had Hawkeye in the cross ties, she stuck out her hand to him, to which he again put his nose in her palm. He nudged her hand back and pressed his head against her chest. Happiness and pride filled Willow’s chest. She rested her cheek lightly on the top of his head, her free hand moving up to rub his neck. Her and Hawkeye had one hell of a journey ahead of them, but for now, they could bond together simply as horse and rider.


End file.
